Archive by category | – Samuel JK Abraham

The “Electric-Biology” duo

The "Electric-Biology" duo

Two old pals, once classmates at Minami-Oei Primary School in Osaka city of Japan, never would have dreamt that they will jointly work to develop a commercially successful disinfectant six decades later. One of them, Sunao Kubota, became a physician and professor of General Surgery in St. Marianna University School of Medicine, and the second, Nobuyuki Yamaji, became an electro physicist with Kyoto University. Yamaji was working on the implications of electric shock or lightning on plants and mammalian tissues, and Kubota was busy with his surgical work, trying to find a solution for his skin-allergy to alcohol. It was  … Read more

Malaysian BIONEXUS incentives

Malaysian BIONEXUS incentives

As we started our work in Japan in 2000 on nano-scaffolds for corneal limbal stem cells (jointly with a group of polymer scientists headed by Yuichi Mori), the very first strategic move was to start collaborating in India, for two reasons. One was we needed a solution for treatable corneal epithelial damage-related blindness, and the other was the availability of qualified and skilled corneal surgeons. The next move was to have a technology transfer tie with Malaysia, simply because the local investors there were willing to invest their hard-earned money in a biotech venture focused on a personalized immune-cell-based cancer  … Read more

Virtual Professorship at Work; the SMART Initiative

Virtual Professorship at Work; the SMART Initiative

The days when the physical presence of a professional in the place of work or a meeting was mandatory are gradually becoming extinct, in the same mode that Brachiosaurus faded from planet Earth. Communication technologies have revolutionized the way meetings happen, and there isn’t the need to always physically gather at one place. If meetings can be made virtual, deals struck and businesses flourish without the need for physical presence and proximity, why can’t ideas ignite minds across the biotech world, and why can’t researchers be tracked in remote control? The Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology  … Read more

Tomorrow is still one day late!

In the past two decades, India has positioned itself as a major Information Technology (IT) service provider to the world. I would like to share my perspectives as an Indian national, living in Japan for the past 18 years, being a clinician and also involved in stem cell research. I have a stake in a biotech (BT) organization, and I’ve been watching the trend of IT vs BT in India. I would say India has a long way to go in making breakthroughs in BT. People might have thought the boom of IT will be followed by that of BT, but I guess that is wrong.  Read more